Jumping forward in time, another notable work coming from South Korea is 2022's Cursed Bunny written by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur. This book, and by extension all of Han Kang's work, strikes me less as a direct critique of the social structures we live under and more as an exploration of characters attempting to transcend these shackles. Abstract in presentation, the novel delves deep into the way people react when decisions are made that go against culture. The story follows Yeong-hye after she makes the sudden decision to stop eating meat, something which drives her husband and the rest of her family into confusion and disarray. And yet, even as I call it 'odd', there is no denying the power exuding out of every word on the page. It was-and still is-the most widely celebrated book to come out of South Korea in recent times, but the content of the book is laced with an emotional weight so profound it serves as a whiplash when juxtaposed against the more uplifting counterparts of Hallyu.

In hindsight, The Vegetarian was the oddest of books to use as a gateway into Korean literature. The only information I had then was that The Vegetarian had won the 2016 International Booker Prize and had exploded into popularity not long after. At the time, my knowledge of Korean culture was limited, and the internal politics of South Korea was still an undiscovered land to my eyes. I had been recommended The Vegetarian-a novel by Han Kang translated to the English by Deborah Smith-and, without any prior knowledge about the book, I decided to dive in. To the eyes of millions of fans worldwide, what really makes the K-wave so appealing is the many unique, and often uplifting, stories coming out of the country that challenge social conventions through their entertainment.įor me, the journey into Korean literature began somewhere around 2017. In 2019 alone, all media attributed to the Hallyu movement added a net total of 12.3 Billion US dollars, and this has rather obviously prompted the government to invest further into all media released from South Korea to capture audiences' hearts. While Hallyu has, in some shape, existed since 1999 (credited largely to the movie Swiri), it has taken an enormous precedent in the eyes of the Korean government only in the last decade. Be it pop culture, music, or cinema, it's clear that most consumers of any media are at the very least aware of Korean entertainment, if not actively participating in it.

Also known as Hallyu, the Korean Wave has been in full swing for years, spreading the culture and art of South Korea as an economy through all imaginable means of entertainment.

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